The World War Two veteran is relatively late to the lifting game, having first gotten into the sport when he was 60. He missed last year’s competition due to a hernia, but that has hardly slowed him down.

Perlis now works out five days a week and even serves as a role model for his wife, Joan, 69. She says, “I always say if it weren't for my husband, I’d be at home watching TV and eating bonbons. He’s my motivator. He makes me work out, too."